Mountain States & Southwest Construction News - Articles - Page 2

Construction workers rest under a shade canopy beside coolers and drinking water at an active jobsite during hot weather.

Early-Season Heat Puts Focus on Worker Acclimatization Across Construction Sites

Industry safety officials say sudden temperature spikes can pose risks before workers have built tolerance to summer heat

Bryan Gottlieb

June 12, 2026

No Comments

As a heat wave pushes heat index values toward 100°F, contractors say the biggest risk may not be the temperature itself.

Aerial view of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant intake and discharge facility in California with water intake equipment and engineered shoreline infrastructure.

Water Infrastructure

Colorado River Agencies Test Framework for Interstate Water Exchanges

Proposed system could improve economics for desalination and water-recycling projects

Bryan Gottlieb

June 5, 2026

No Comments

Can Southwest water agencies create a new market for desalinated and recycled water without building pipelines or altering Colorado River water rights?

District energy equipment and sewer heat-recovery infrastructure at Denver's National Western Center.

Clean Energy

Denver Looks to Sewers, Geothermal Wells for Downtown Energy Network

Pilot aims to demonstrate that district thermal systems can be built in dense urban cores without major electrical grid upgrades

Bryan Gottlieb

May 27, 2026

No Comments

Denver is testing whether sewer heat, geothermal wells and district thermal infrastructure can retrofit dense downtowns without requiring major electrical-system expansion.

Energy

Clayco Partners With Deep Atomic for DOE Nuclear-Powered Data Center Proposal

Jeff Yoders

May 21, 2026

No Comments

Design-build firm is part of a consortium that aims to build a nuclear-powered data center at the Idaho National Laboratory, a federal research site.

Water Infrastructure

Utah Nears Completion of 17-Year, 49-Mile Spanish Fork–Santaquin Pipeline

Greg Aragon

May 11, 2026

No Comments

Crews in southern Utah County are nearing completion on one of the most consequential water infrastructure projects in the Western U.S.

Bulldozer clearing desert terrain during border wall construction in southern Arizona

News Analysis

Border Wall Construction Draws Execution Questions After Cultural Site Damage

Crews cut through a 1,000-year-old Arizona Indigenous ground etching days after a $45.6M contract change added work without extending the timeline

Bryan Gottlieb

May 4, 2026

No Comments

Crews cut through a 1,000-year-old Indigenous ground etching in Arizona after a no-time contract change, raising questions about execution controls.

Pipeline installation in an open trench with heavy equipment on site.

Energy Construction

Canada-to-Wyoming Oil Pipeline Secures Presidential Permit to Advance

The 645-mile pipeline, dubbed "Keystone Light" in reference to Keystone XL line cancelled in 2021 after former President Joe Biden revoked its US permit, would move up to 550,000 barrels per day of Canadian crude into American markets

Bryan Gottlieb

May 1, 2026

No Comments

The Trump permit enables construction of a 645-mile Canada-to-Wyoming crude pipeline connecting to one in Alberta, but challenges from environmental groups as well as further state and federal reviews are still ahead.